Dentist{3 s working tool

ABSTRACT

A working tool for dentists has a stand located at the side of the patient&#39;&#39;s chair and having an expectorating base carrying a cup or funnel for spitting and possibly a mouth spray, as well as a holder for hand carried pieces, such as sprayers and suction hand pieces. The invention is characterized in that the stand has a vertical axis about which the expectorating base swings and that the base also has a vertical axis about which an arm swings. The arm has at its free end a holder for the hand carried pieces.

United States'Patent [191 Heubeck DENTISTS WORKING TOOL [75] inventor:

[73] Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschatt,

Erlangen, Germany 22 Filed: Nov. 24, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 201,781

Erich Heubeck, Bensheim, Germany [30] I Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 8, 1970 Germany 2060278 [52] US. Cl. 32/22, 4/263 [51] Int. Cl. A61c 19/02 [58] Field of Search 32/22; 4/263 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,530,513 9/1970 Maurer et al. 32/22 111 3,823,475 July 16, 1974 3,650,033 3/1972 Behne 32/22 Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Richards & Geier 5 7 ABSTRACT A working tool for dentists has a stand located at the side of the patients chair and having an expectorating base carrying a cup or funnel for spitting and possibly a mouth spray, as well as a holder for hand carried pieces, such as sprayers and suction hand pieces. The invention is characterized in that the stand has a vertical axis about which the expectorating base swings and that the base also has a vertical axis about which an arm swings. The arm has at its: free end a holder for v the hand carried pieces.

11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 DENTISTS WORKING TOOL This invention relates to a working tool for dentists having a stand located at the side of the patients chair and connected with an expectorating base carrying a cup or funnel for spitting and possibly a mouth spray,

as well as a holder for hand carried pieces, such as sprayers and suction hand carried pieces.

A dentist's tool is known in the art, having a stand which can be adapted sidewise to a patients chair and is connected with a casing for an expectorating base which is swingable about a vertical axis. This arrangement makes it possible to swing away the base without moving the stand or the instrument carrier swingably connected with a supporting arm extending over the stand and set in a position suitable for treatment. The swinging of the base makes it possible on the one hand to approach the patient closely and on the other hand, to easily bring the spitting cup and the drinking glass to the patient. In this known device the hand carried pieces located at the front of the base are firmly fixed thereto. There fore, they cannot be adapted to different operational requirements which result from a change in the position of the patient, for example, when the patient is moved from a sitting to a lying position. Furthermore, a dentist who works without an assistant cannot himself bring the hand pieces, such as the saliva remover or suction hand pieces into the treating location without changing his working position. There are also working positions inwhich the dentist due to the location of the hand pieces cannot reach them at all without assistance or reaches them with great difficulty, for example, in a so-called'90 operating position. i

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of existing constructions by providing an arrangement of the expectorating base with its hand carried pieces in such manner that they can be easily reached in every working position by the dentist without any assistance, while retaining the advantage of undisturbed work resulting from the swinging of the tool.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In the accomplishment of the objectives of the pres ent invention it was found desirable to provide .the stand with a vertical axis upon which the base is swung and to provide the base also with a vertical'axis about which swings an arm carrying upon its free end a holder for the hand carried pieces.

In order to adapt the spittoon cup mounted on the base to different height locations of the patients mouth in different treating positions, for example, when changing from a sitting to a lying position, it is advantageous to construct the connecting member between the two vertical axis as a substantially upright parallelogram carrier swingable in a vertical plane. The length of the parallelogram carrier preferably corresponds to about the height of the stand. If the axle bearing of the base is placed at about the lower edge of the stand and if the axle bearing for the arm carrying the holder is located at the free end of the parallelogram carrier, then a comparatively largestroke is provided for adjustment in height to the patients chair, and there is an easy removal possibility as well as an increase in stretching width in the longitudinal direction of the chair as well.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing showing by way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the attachment of the stand to the patientschair. I

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the attaching means of the holder.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the patients chair.

FIG. 1 shows a dental working device with a stand I which can be brought to the side of a patients chair. The stand carries a swinging arm 2 upon which an instrument holding device 3 is arranged so that the hand carried pieces can be easily directed into the mouth of a patient sitting upon the chair. The arm 2 can be swung about a vertical axis 4, 'while the instrument holding unit and the depositing plate 5 can be swung jointly about a common vertical axis 6'. The plate 5 is located below the arm 2 and is connected with it by a carrying arm.

An expectorating base 7 is located at the front side surface of the stand 1 and is swingable abouta further vertical axis 8. The head portion of the base 7 has a spittoon cup 9, a mouth spray 10 as well as a holder 11, for hand carried pieces 12. Theholder 11 is carried by an arm 13 which is swingable about an axis 14. Thevertical axis 14 coincides with the central axis of the cup The connectingmember between the bearing for the axis 14 and the bearing for the axis 8 is a substantially upright parallelogram carrier 15 swingable in a vertical plane. The length of the parallelogram carrier 15 corresponds substantially to the height of the stand 1. The lower end of the parallelogram carrier 15 is linked to a support 16 which can be swung about the vertical axis 8. By arranging the axle bearing of the base 7 at the stand 1 substantially close to the lower edge of the stand and by making the parllelogram carrier 15 so long that the axle bearing for the arm 13 of the holder 11 is located at itsfree end close to the top of the stand 7, a substantially large stroke is provided for the base 7 and there is a substantially wide discharge in the longitudinal direction of the working tool. FIG. 1 shows by broken lines a location of the base 7 in a swung out position corresponding to about one half of its stroke.

A carrier 20 is provided to adapt the stand 1 to the part of the patients chair which is movable in height. FIG. 2 shows in top view the location of the working tool relatively to the patients chair '21. The stand I is attached by a carrier 20 to the part of patients chair which is adjustable in height. The base 7 is showninv FIG. :2 in a position in which it is swung away from the patients chair. .The holder 11 with the arm 13 are swung toward the patients chair.

.The holder 11 consists of several holding claws 22, 23 located next to each other in an elongated block 30, whereby the block 30 is connected with the arm- 13 by a holding member 24 upon the front side located away from the patients chair. In top view the arm 13 and the block 30 have the shape of the numeral 7, whereby the block 30 constitutes the upper transverse part of this numeral. As shown in FIG. 3 the block 30 "can be easily removed from the member 24. For that purpose the holding member 24 is provided with a pin or flange (not shown) which connects it with the arm 13 while providing a small slit. At its rear side the block 30 carries a metal sheet 25 provided with an opening (not shown) corresponding to the diameter of the pin extending between the holding member 24 and the arm 13.

The shape of the holding member 24 corresponds to that of the block 30, so that when the parts are joined the block 30 and the member 24 form a unitary structure.

A holding member corresponding to that of member 24 is provided upon the rear surface of the back rest of the patients chair 21. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this holding member 31 carries a block 32 consisting of two claw carrying parts and is similar to the block 30. For the sake of better illustration the hand carried pieces are not shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The holders of the block 32 are so arranged that the hand carried pieces fitting between the claws can be conveniently grasped. It is, therefore, also possible to provide the block not upon the rear surface of the chair back but upon a side surface of the back of the chair 21 directed toward the base 7.

I claim:

l. A dental unit, comprising a stand fitting on the side of a patients chair, an expectorating base, means connecting said base with said stand and having a first vertical axis, said base being swingable about said first vertical axis; an arm having one end mounted upon said base and swingable about a second vertical axis and a holder for dental instruments carried by the other end of said arm.

2. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means comprise a substantially upright paralellogram arm swingable about a horizontal axis for adjusting the height of the base.

3. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, wherein said holder comprises a plurality of parallel claw-like members joined side by side to form an elongated block.

4. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, wherein said block is removably connected with a holding member of said holder.

5. A dental unit in accordance with claim 2, wherein the length of said parallelogram arm is substantially equal to the height of said stand.

6. A dental unit in accordance with claim 2, wherein said parallelogram arm is swingably connected with said stand adjacent a lower end of the stand and said one end of the arm is located adjacent the top end of said parallelogram arm.

7. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, comprising another arm mounted upon said stand and swingable about another vertical axis, and an instrument carrier carried by said other arm.

8. A dental unit in accordance with claim 4, wherein the shape of the holding member corresponds to that of said block.

9. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, wherein said arm and said block jointly have the shape of the numeral .7, said block constituting the top of the numeral 7.

10. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, for use with a patients chair having a portion adjustable in height, said tool having means connecting said stand with said chair portion.

11. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, for use with a patients chair having a holding member carried by the back of the chair and similar to the firstmentioned holding member, said block being adapted to be selectively connected to any one of the two holding members. 

1. A dental unit, comprising a stand fitting on the side of a patient''s chair, an expectorating base, means connecting said base with said stand and having a first vertical axis, said base being swingable about said first vertical axis; an arm having one end mounted upon said base and swingable about a second vertical axis and a holder for dental instruments carried by the other end of said arm.
 2. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means comprise a substantially upright paralellogram arm swingable about a horizontal axis for adjusting the height of the base.
 3. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, wherein said holder comprises a plurality of parallel claw-like members joined side by side to form an elongated block.
 4. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, wherein said block is removably connected with a holding member of said holder.
 5. A dental unit in accordance with claim 2, wherein the length of said parallelogram arm is substantially equal to the height of said stand.
 6. A dental unit in accordance with claim 2, wherein said parallelogram arm is swingably connected with said stand adjacent a lower end of the stand and said one end of the arm is located adjacent the top end of said parallelogram arm.
 7. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, comprising another arm mounted upon said stand and swingable about another vertical axis, and an instrument carrier carried by said other arm.
 8. A dental unit in accordance with claim 4, wherein the shape of the holding member corresponds to that of said block.
 9. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, wherein said arm and said block jointly have the shape of the numeral ''''7,'''' said block constituting the top of the numeral ''''7.''''
 10. A dental unit in accordance with claim 1, for use with a patient''s chair having a portion adjustable in height, said tool having means connecting said stand with said chair portion.
 11. A dental unit in accordance with claim 3, for use with a patient''s chair having a holding member carried by the back of the chair and similar to the first-mentioned holding member, said block being adapted to be selectively connected to any one of the two holding members. 